Sewing-machine for lasting boots or shoes



(No Model.)

, I 2 SheetsSheet 1.

r T. K. KEITH. SEWING MACHINE FOR LASTING BOOTS OR SHOES.

No. 540,836. Patented June 11,1895.

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. T. K. KEITH.- SEWING MACHINE FOR LASTING BOOTS OR SHOES. I No. 540,836. Patented Jun 11, 1895.

.the holding stitch is made.

by a clamp screw C ITED ST ATES PATENT t mes.

THOMAS K. KEITH, or BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

SEWING-MACHINE FOR VLASTING BOOTS OR SHOES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 540,836, dated June 11, 1895.

Application filed January 5, 1895.

T0 aZZ whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, THOMAS K. KEITH, of

Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Sewing-Machines for Lasting Boots or Shoes, of which the following, taken-in connection with the accompany: ing drawings, is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of lasting machines in which the upper is connected to the inner sole by stitches,-the object being to so make a machine that it will automatically stretch the upper and hold it in place until This object I attain by the mechanism shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 isafront elevation of my machine. Fig. 2 is a plan of the same. Fig. 3 is aside elevation, except that a part of the frame of the machine is represented as broken out. Fig. 4 is a detail in elevation; Fig. 5 shows in elevation the more important parts in the working position relatively to the shoe. All of the parts shown in this figure arefull size.

In the drawings, A represents the base of the frame 'of the machine, and A A A the three uprights. The two end uprights A and A serve to support the mainshaft B of the machine. 7 The center uprightrA serves to support the parts that are immediately connected to the stitch forming mechanism. It also gives a rigid support for the adjustable rest or holder A The needle 0 is curved as shown and serves also for piercing the upper and sole for the thread to pass through. (See Fig. 5.) The needle 0 is clamped to the needle carrier 0 The needle carrier 0' is attachedto a hollow rocking shaft 0 The rocking shaft 0 has an arm 0 which is connected by a link G and pin 0 to a lever 0 the lever 0 being pivotally attached to the base A at O and having a roller 0 running in a cam groove made in the face of the cam 0 The needle supportl) is attached to a rocker shaft D running through the hollow rocking shaft C and is controlled in its motion by the pin D on the arm 0 (see Fig. 4c) and the spring D The needle support D moves with the needle from the position represented in Fig. 3 until it comes in contact with the rest A as shown in Fig. 5, when it stops and the SerialNo. 533,969. (No model.)

needle advances until its point has passed entirely through the stock to the position.

shown in Fig. 5, where it receives the thread from the thread carrier E.

E runs on the periphery of the cam E so that the lever E has a compound motion. Its

lower end in its movements will take the thread carrier E entirely around the point of the needle. This action of the thread carrier takes. place when the needle has passed through thestock, and gives the thread a turn around the point of the needle and causes it to engage with the hook of the needle so that when the needle is drawn back through the stock, it takes the thread with it and as the shoe is moved along, stitches are formed in the usual manner.

The rocking post E is held by a spring E which acts on an arm E extending from the post. The tendency of the spring E" is to so turn the post E that it will hold the upper end of the leverE against the periphery of the cam E The thread take-up mechanism consists of a long arm H having a small roller H at the upper end for the thread to pass around. The lower end of this arm H is attached to a rocker shaft H which is operated by the cam H acting through the roller H and arm H H is a spiral spring attached to the arm H to keep it against the cam. After the thread T leaves the take-up roller H it passes to the guide L and around the tension wheel L and thence to the needle asshown in Fig. 3.

I will now describe the device that I use for the double purpose of a lateral restor gage for the operator to hold the shoe against while the upper is being sewed to the sole, and as a device for drawing the upper taut on the last and to assist in holding it while the stitch is being formed that unites it to the sole.

A belt P passes around a driving pulley on the main shaft B (indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3), thence under the back guiding pulley P to the rest pulley P thence under the front guiding pulley P and back to the driving pulley on the main shaft. The belt P should be of some firm material that will exert friction on the upper but will not abrade or otherwise injure it. To prevent the belt P from slipping on its driving pulley, 1 atfix in the periphery of the driving pulley a series of pins a a (see Figs. 1 and 2) which are adapted to engage with holes made in the belt P and thus prevent any slip.

The two guiding pulleys P P and the rest pulley P are attached to a sliding frame R as shown in Fig. This frame R slides freely in ways made on the base A. The spring R connects at R to the sliding frame R and at A to the base A, the tendency of the spring being to cause the sliding frame R to press forward toward the shoe so as to cause that part of the belt P that is on the outer part of the rest pulley P to press against the upper of the shoe S as shown in Figs. 3 and 5.

The sliding frame R is provided with a series of teeth E (Fig. 3) which engage with the pawl R when the end of the said pawl is drawn down by the spring R The pawl R is pivoted at E (Fig. 3) and has an exten' sion R the upper end of which is acted upon by a projection E" on the cam E The arrangement of the cam-projection E is such that it only lifts the pawl R out of contact with the teeth B when the working parts of the machine are withdrawn out of the way of the stock and allpartsarein position for placing and adjusting the shoe ready for making a stitch. \Vhen the pawl is out of contact as above set forth and as shown in Fig. 3, the operator can place the shoe against the belt P at the rest or holding point 7" (Figs. 3 and 5) and push it back until the shoe is in posi- 0 tion for the formation of a stitch. Now as the cam turns, the projection E leaves the end of the pawl extension R and allows the pawl R to engage with the teeth R on the sliding frame R and thus lock it and the rest pulley R in position, in which position it is held until acomplete stitch is formed, that is, until the cam has made a full rotation, when the projection IE will again come in contact with the extension R and raise the pawl, thus freeing the sliding frame R and leaving rest pulley P free to be adapted to its correct position for holding the shoe for the next stitch.

It is obvious that in some cases, the belt P may be omitted and a rotating pulley like P be used, the periphery of the same being covered with some material like rubber or its compounds, that has a surface capable of exerting great frictional tension on the upper of the shoe being lasted so as to draw it firmly to the last.

I claim In a sewing machine for lasting boots or shoes, the combination, with stitch forming mechanism, of a gage for the face of the inner sole to rest against, and asecond gage for determining the lateral position of the shoe, said second gage having a moving frictional bearing surface to act upon that part of the upper that is near, but not in contact with the sole,whereby the upper is properlystretched over the last, and secured to the sole, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, on this 31st day of December, A.'D. 1894.

THOMAS K. KEITH.

\Vitnesses:

FRANK G. PARKER, EDWARD S. DAY. 

